Sample questions relating to King's Cross leasehold conveyancing
I wish to let out my leasehold apartment in King's Cross. Conveyancing solicitor who did the purchase is retired - so can't ask him. Do I need to ask my freeholder for permission?
A lease governs the relationship between the freeholder and you the leaseholder; specifically, it will set out if subletting is banned, or permitted but only subject to certain caveats. The accepted inference is that if the lease contains no expres ban or restriction, subletting is allowed. The majority of leases in King's Cross do not contain strict prohibition on subletting – such a clause would undoubtedly devalue the property. In most cases there is simply a requirement that the owner notifies the freeholder, possibly supplying a duplicate of the tenancy agreement.
Having checked my lease I have discovered that there are only Sixty One years remaining on my flat in King's Cross. I now want to extend my lease but my landlord is missing. What should I do?
On the basis that you meet the appropriate requirements, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply to the County Court for an order to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will enable the lease to be lengthened by the Court. You will be obliged to prove that you have made all reasonable attempts to locate the landlord. On the whole an enquiry agent may be useful to conduct investigations and to produce a report to be accepted by the court as evidence that the landlord is indeed missing. It is advisable to get professional help from a conveyancer both on investigating the landlord’s disappearance and the vesting order request to the County Court covering King's Cross.
Planning to complete next month on a leasehold property in King's Cross. Conveyancing solicitors assured me that they are sending me a report on Monday. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?
Your report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in King's Cross should include some of the following:
- You should be sent a copy of the lease
I own a leasehold flat in King's Cross. Conveyancing and The Mortgage Works mortgage organised. I have received a letter from someone claiming to own the reversionary interest in the property. It included a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1995. The conveyancing solicitor in King's Cross who acted for me is not around.Any advice?
First contact the Land Registry to be sure that this person is indeed the new freeholder. It is not necessary to incur the fees of a King's Cross conveyancing solicitor to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for a few pound. Rest assured that in any event, even if this is the rightful landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.
I am a negotiator for a busy estate agent office in King's Cross where we see a few leasehold sales jeopardised as a result of leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have been given contradictory information from local King's Cross conveyancing firms. Please can you confirm whether the seller of a flat can instigate the lease extension process for the buyer?
Provided that the seller has been the owner for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. The benefit of this is that the proposed purchaser can avoid having to sit tight for 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed prior to, or at the same time as completion of the sale.
An alternative approach is to extend the lease informally by agreement with the landlord either before or after the sale. If you are informally negotiating there are no rules and so you cannot insist on the landlord agreeing to grant an extension or transferring the benefit of an agreement to the buyer.
I have tried to negotiate informally with with my landlord to extend my lease without any joy. Can I apply to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal? Can you recommend a King's Cross conveyancing firm to help?
Most definitely. We can put you in touch with a King's Cross conveyancing firm who can help.
An example of a Lease Extension matter before the tribunal for a King's Cross property is Flat 89 Trinity Court Grays Inn Road in February 2013. the Tribunal found that the premium to be paid by the tenant on the grant of a new lease, in accordance with section 56 and Schedule 13 to the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 should be £36,229. This case related to 1 flat. The unexpired term was 66.8 years.
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